A Nice Young Man from Maine

H.'s brother Patrick [of H.'s four older brothers, Pat is closest in age to him] is here with his love, Martha, and Martha's son, James, who is 12, about to be 13 in May. They stopped over for a night on their drive from Maine to Anapolis, where Martha's family is from. It's refreshing to have them here. And James is really nice. I love the stories he shared from his home state:

• About Maiden's Cliff in Camden, and the myths/ghost stories surrounding it--a young girl fell off it in the 1860s.  We've hiked there with H.'s brother John.
• About his best birthday, when he fished in a lake and went on a canoe.
• About funny people he knows, like the boy who put on gas mask and a Speedo and rode a unicycle.
• About the Dunkin' Donuts truck he saw on a highway once, where the cab was shaped like a coffee cup and the back like a donut box.
• About the sky up in Maine--how it's black, with stars. Our sky looks smoggy tonight. James speculated that it's because we are close to New York. I think it's because of rain clouds.

He and Figgy are watching a horror movie now. I made them popcorn. The adults are going to sleep. I'm getting up early to make the blueberry muffins from My Father's Daughter, by Gwyneth Paltrow before James and family head on their way . [I tried to resist buying another cookbook, my true weakness, but found it discounted in Target and discovered I really love Gwyneth's engaging writing style, the people photos, the food photos and the recipes--and the story of her close relationship with her Dad.]

TCOY

1. Yoga class @ 8:15 A.M.
2. Sought support.
3. Put a red tulip and a yellow tulip from our garden in the pretty vase from Elly and Anne.
4. Orchid hair conditioner.